“I don’t know the future,” she admitted, then put her palm on my face. “But I do know what you do with those bedrooms is amazing. And as for him, there are no guarantees, but there is something to be cherished in a man who can see your strength and your vulnerabilities and love you for them.” I was crying in earnest by then, thinking about the way Theo had cared for me that day after I fainted, the eagerness to do even the smallest thing for me. Maybe Theo needed to be needed as much as I craved unconditional support.

“What if he gets tired of how chaotic I am?”

“What if he doesn’t?” my mom countered and then wrapped her arm around my waist. “Your father didn’t respect me enough to see me as an equal, even when I was the one who provided for our family. He resented me for that. And so he treated the business I’d built like it meant nothing. Because to him, it would’ve only been valuable if he had done it. But that man, he sees your brilliance. He sees you, sweetheart. He’s not threatened by your success.”

I nodded as tears ran down my face and thought of all the times when Theo had asked me about my work. How he’d gone on social media just to like my stuff. The way he defended me from Chase’s dismissiveness.

“I don’t know if there’s still anything for me here though, Mami,” I told her, thinking of the show and the fiasco with Smithson-Napa.

“I don’t believe that,” my mother told me with a confidence that bolstered me. “The women in our family are sabias and luchadoras. We always figure it out.”

“You always did, Mami,” I told her, and wrapped an arm around her waist. I came from a long line of warriors. I could have the life I wanted, and I didn’t have to do it alone.

“We can come up with a plan, Albita. You and me, we’ve done it before.” We really had. The two of us had fixed the mess my father had left, and here we were. “This time, we have help.” My heart squeezed and I wondered if that was still true. I hoped with everything I had that it was.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alba

“Call me as soon as you’re done with the meeting, okay?” Julia told me as I walked into the café where I’d be meeting with Yazmin.